Fix the problem, don’t live with the consequences.

Don’t feed the narrative that women/victims need to go to such extra lengths to protect themselves when men/predators are the ones that need the spotlight of who needs to be fixed.

Don’t focus on which women/victims are “easy targets.” Focus on why predators need to pick targets in the first place. Focus on that. Focus on the problem, not the effects.

Think of the bigger picture, the source of the problem. Are predators born bad? Are they raised bad? What causes them to commit violent crimes in our society? Focus on cultivating a safer community by focusing on the problem – men/predators – not what the victims were wearing or how they had their hair styled.

A woman is not more likely to be a victim of violent crime because she’s pretty. A woman is more likely to be a victim of violent crime because a criminal sees her and decides to kill her.

Correlation does not mean causation.

Because a predator may favor a certain look of a woman does not mean that woman invited a crime to occur because she wore a skirt (for example).

Because you wear your hair in a ponytail one night does not mean that’s why you were assaulted.

You were assaulted and became a victim of violent crime because a criminal decided to attack you. The factors that a criminal uses to decide who to attack varies from criminal to criminal. There are plenty of women/victims of rape that were not wearing skirts or “easy to remove clothes.” There are plenty of women/victims of violent crime that were not walking by themselves in the middle of the night. There are plenty of victims that were not intoxicated at the time a crime occurred to them. The victims are not the problem. The victims are not the ones making themselves “easy targets.” That is a misogynistic views of how women are viewed.

We should stop seeing women as weak. We need to embrace the narrative that crime happens to people because of the criminals, not because of what the victim was wearing, whether the victim lived a high-risk lifestyle, or how the victim wore their hair.

As a woman to another woman, would you think a woman is “vulnerable” or “an easy target” because she is petite and looks pretty? The idea of looking at a woman are seeing her as an “easy target” is the perspective of a man. This petite woman may know self-defense, be a police officer, or know how to use pressure points against a person three times her size. The way she looks does not make her an easy target. And in this scenario, if someone does assault this petite woman, I bet they’re in for the shock of their life when that woman that weighs half that criminal’s weight pins the criminal down by their neck and incapacitated the criminal.

Change the narrative. Correlation does not mean causation. A victim of a violent crime is a victim because of the criminal.

Work towards changing the narrative and fixing the problem. Stand together with other woman rather than playing devil’s advocate of why they were assaulted. Fight back against the perpetrators. Show them there is no such thing as an “easy target.” Show them women are not “vulnerable” by simply being a woman.

Wield yourself with mace, a taser, a knife. Learn self defense. Be confident in yourself. Practice fight or flight scenarios. Protect yourself by preparing yourself. Not by changing the clothes you wear, how you do your hair, or what time you walk your dog. Women should be able to wear what they want, when they want, how they want, and not have to fear for their safety.

If you don’t feel safe walking by yourself at night, think about why you don’t feel safe at night. I promise you, the answer is not you.